This invention relates to a highway barrier and, in particular, to a highway barrier of the New Jersey style, which is made from semi-rigid plastic material, is hollow and when in use is filled with a liquid.
Present day highway barriers are used to divide opposing traffic lanes. For the most part, such barriers are made from precast, reinforced concrete. A preferred form of barrier is the New Jersey style barrier, which has a relatively wide base having side walls which extend upwardly from the pavement a short distance, thereafter the walls of the barrier extend upwardly and inwardly for a distance and finally the upper portion of the barrier extends upwardly in a vertical plane. The barrier is designed so that when the wheels of a vehicle contact the barrier, the wheels contact the vertical side walls of the base and the vehicle is forced back into its lane of traffic rather than crossing over into the lane of opposing traffic. U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,362 discloses a highway barrier of the New Jersey style.
One disadvantage of a highway barrier made from concrete is the high weight it possesses. A concrete barrier of the New Jersey style weighs about 3,000 pounds for a barrier having a length of fifteen feet. Thus this large weight necessitates special equipment to handle the barriers. It has been estimated that for some road repairs 40% of the dollars expended for the repair are spent on acquiring, delivering and setting up the concrete barriers. Thus, a considerable savings could be realized if a barrier could be made with less weight.
Another disadvantage of a concrete barrier is that concrete has very little ability to absorb shock and reduce damage to vehicles which collide with a concrete barrier.
Still another disadvantage of a concrete barrier is the heavy load to which highways are subjected when the barriers are transported from site to site.
A still further disadvantage of a concrete barrier is the difficulty in placing the barriers due to their high weight.